Ascending Chaos
by Side1ways
Summary: James' life goes from calm to chaotic with one twist in fate, and he's forced to live with the consequences. How will he cope, however, when his life of royalty is swapped with one of squalor, especially when the company isn't exactly pleasant. On top of it all, will he be able to complete what is expected of him or will he succumb to the ascending chaos?
1. Chapter 1

**So, you were probably expecting this after I mentioned it a couple of weeks ago, but welcome to a test chapter of a new story I'm thinking of writing! Or, as I like to think of it, another story that I'll start and then not touch until about 6 months later!**

**Anyway, so like I said, this is Star Wars-esque story, but its set in a universe that I'm making up as I go along! Anyway, give it a read and let me know what you think!**

* * *

As James heard his holo communicator beep, he couldn't help but let out a sigh, knowing that it was his mother that was contacting him. Making sure that all of his aids were out of the room, James answered the communications device, setting her against the background of space, so he at least had something to stare at while they talked. "Hello mother," James said as he answered, flashing her the best smile he could muster.

"Hi sweetie, how's the journey going?" his mother, Brooke, asked in return, causing James to let out another sigh.

"Dull, and long as usual. I don't get why these luxury transport ships like to travel at sub-light speeds. If they used Sonic space, then we'd be there in half the time" James replied, causing his mother to let out a little chuckle.

"But that way, you wouldn't get to see the majesty that is space. If you spent all your time in Sonic space, then you wouldn't get to see the planets, the stars and everything in between" Brooke replied, causing James to roll his eyes slightly.

"We don't get to see any of that anyway. The Sovereignty has it all under wraps, so we're stuck with all the boring sonic routes" James stated, causing his mother to let out a little chuckle.

"And yet, you're the one that's trying to stop me from funding the Resurgency"

"Shh, someone could hear you" James hissed, causing Brooke to roll her eyes this time.

"Don't be so dramatic, this line is as secure as they come. Besides, I bet you sent out all your aids before you answered my transmission" Brooke stated, causing James to let out another soft sigh.

His mother knew him so well.

"Still, I don't like when you talk about it, let alone when you actually fund them. If the Sovereignty ever found out, they'd…" James didn't want to finish that sentence, as he didn't even want to think about what would happen.

James knew that the Sovereignty were brutal when it came to the treatment of traitors and he was sure that they wouldn't make any exceptions for royalty. Especially royalty who'd always been a bit vocal about her disproval in the Sovereignty.

"They won't find out James. I always make sure to cover my tracks, and all of my trades are done through so many back channels that the Sovereignty wouldn't know where to start. I'm fine and I'm going to be fine, but I can't help but what to fight for our freedom. You were only young when the Sovereignty took over, but I remember the days of the Commonwealth when every system was free to govern itself and the galaxy was a place of liberty and free trade. Now, with all the embargos and restrictions that the Sovereignty place on us, the people don't have any freedom and I can't stand by and let that happen without knowing I'm doing something to stop it" Brooke stated, causing James to nod ever so slightly.

He was always sceptical of whether his mother was actually safe or not, but knowing this mother, she wouldn't listen to his concerns anyway. For a Queen that always listened to what the people said, he wasn't very good a listening to him.

Before James had a chance to object, he heard the door buzz behind him, before an aid walked in to deliver James some food that he hadn't ordered. Once again, this luxury cruises trying to force their decadence down his throat.

"But it's nice to hear that your journey to Ronkari is going well. Just remember that the Ronkarians is one of our closest trading partners so you need to make sure to be respectable and polite" Brooke said, perfectly covering her tracks so the aid believed that they were just talking about his duties.

"Yes, mother I know. I've been doing this for 5 years remember, ever since I turned 18" James stated, causing Brooke to let out a little chuckle.

"I know, but I feel like I can't help but remind you. It's the mother in me" she stated, causing James to roll his eyes.

"And I'm making it clear once again, you're not marrying me off to one of them. I know you think that Jett Stetson and I would be a perfect match, but I refuse to marry that…that-"

"Pig. Yes, you've made your feelings about him very clear, and if you'll recall, I haven't asked you to marry him since the first time you told me. I know better than to try and force you to do something"

"And yet, you managed to get me here" James stated, causing Brooke to let another one more chuckle.

"That wasn't me forcing you to do anything, I was just reminding you of your duties as Prince" Brooke stated before James watched the door open behind her on the holo. As an advisor approached Brooke and whispered something into her ear, James watched as her face dropped ever so slightly. When the advisor pulled away, she flashed James a small smile before speaking up again. "Sweetie, I have to go. There have been some disputes about the land in between Cherria City and Sakoya that I have to deal with"

"I keep telling you that you should just merge the two cities into one" James stated, causing Brooke to roll her eyes slightly.

"And I've told you that the people don't what that to happen. Ruling a planet isn't always about doing what's logical, sometimes you have to listen to what the people want" Brooke reminded James, causing him to nod ever so slightly. "Anyway, try to enjoy the rest of your journey. I know you hate all of the slow travelling but honestly, make the most of it. You don't know when you're going to get a chance to relax like that again. Bye sweetie"

"Bye mother" James replied, before her visual cut off, leaving James alone in his room again.

Sitting down on his sofa, James couldn't help but let out a soft sigh, still worried about his mother. Deep down, he knew that she was doing, funding the Resurgency was the right thing to do as the Sovereignty were basically an authoritarian regime ruling them all. Still, James couldn't help that small part of him that didn't want his mother to have to be the one to do it.

There was so much risk when it came to standing up against the Sovereignty and to be honest, his mother had been lucky that she hadn't faced any punishments for what she'd done so far. Shuffling in his seat slightly, James tried to push the thoughts from his mind, focusing on what she said. She was fine, and she was going to be fine.

If only James could actually believe that.

* * *

Kendall kept his head down as he walked through the halls of the Elegance. The blond knew for a fact that he looked completely out of place on the ship, but then again, anyone who looked at him would probably just think he was part of the waiting staff on the ship.

That was even if anyone looked at him.

He wouldn't be surprised if he could sneak down to the lower decks undetected as the upper decks were filled with the typical pretentious assholes that would travel on a ship like this. Seriously, who would even dream of actually wanting to spend time in a place like this! It was too shiny and too bright for Kendall, with so much gold all over the place that he was tempted to break a bit off of the wall to see if it was real.

Then again, if it was real, he probably wouldn't be able to do that.

The whole place, even the name of the ship, Elegance, just screamed pretension and Kendall couldn't wait to be off of it, once he had his target in hand that was. Thankfully, Kendall was broken out of his thought process when his partner talked into his ear.

"Yes, I know that I need to keep a low profile, that's what I'm doing" Kendall spoke, keeping his eyes trained to the floor as the followed the map imprinted onto the contact lens he was wearing. There was also the key codes for some of the doors that he'd need to pass through on the lower levels as well as a picture of his target. "I'd probably be able to blend in better if it looked like I wasn't talking to myself like a nutcase" Kendall responded, and that earned him a few looks from the passengers.

As politely as he could, Kendall just smiled back at them but they probably didn't look at him long enough to notice it.

_'Just don't think about it, Kendall. Just focus on the payday, and the credits you can get from pickpocketing a few of them in the tight corridors' _he thought to himself as he walked, although it was unlikely that he'd be presented with tight corridors until the lower decks, where there wouldn't be as much money.

Heavens forbid that these people had to walk close to each other.

Once again, suppressing that thought, Kendall continued to make his way through the corridors, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. When he saw someone who looked like they worked on the ship, the blond tried his best to hide. After all, he didn't need to cause a firefight on the ship, mostly because he knew that he wouldn't be able to win.

The amount of security these ships have is insane, and to be honest, Kendall was surprised that he'd managed to sneak on in the first place. Thank god for his partner scrabbling the security logs and creating a false report at another airlock, as otherwise, there would have been no way to get onboard. Once again, Kendall was jolted from his thoughts when his partner talked in his ear.

"I know I'm getting close to the lift shaft, thanks for reminding me. Have you managed to get access to the computer systems in the ship yet?" Kendall asked, waiting a few seconds for the response. "You need a manual connection, why didn't you say so as soon as I was on board! There was a computer terminal right next to the airlock?" Another few seconds passed as Kendall listened to his partner. "Oh no, don't you blame this on me! I was not too preoccupied with getting out of there as soon as possible, you were the one who told me that the security was returning when they weren't" Kendall replied, once again gaining a few weird looks. "Fine, I'll try to find a computer station around here, but just remember that I'm the boss!"

Kendall chose to ignore the sarcastic comment he received as a response, instead opting to try and find the closest computer access point. The blond couldn't imagine that there would be many of them on the upper levels like this, but there must be some right?

Looking for the closest maintenance locker on his level, Kendall stood to the side of the corridor for a second, using his contact lens to browse for it. It took a short while, but eventually, Kendall found one semi-nearby. Zoning back into the space around, Kendall tuned into what one of the passengers was saying.

"Look at him, doing nothing. I should report him to the Captain, and he should be fired! Common filth!" The woman said, causing the man next to her to nod.

"You're right as always Audacity. I would expect better on a ship like this"

Kendall didn't even have time to try and emotionally unpack everything that he'd just heard. Calling him 'common filth', well yeah, to be honest, the blond had heard some far better, and more hurtful, insults but a woman called Audacity? That was too much for him to handle.

_'Only rich people can call their children stupid things and get away with it' _Kendall thought to himself, causing him to try and stifle a laugh as he continued his journey. Someone thankfully, his humour was gone when his partner spoke up in his ear again.

"What do you mean you're picking something up on the sensors? What is it?" Kendall asked, but he didn't need to wait long to find out, as he felt the ship shake violently for a brief second.

Running to the closest viewing port, Kendall encountered a sight that he always dreaded seeing. "Sod the treasure, I'm on my way back to the ship. You better get the engines spooled!" Kendall exclaimed, bracing himself as he felt the ship rock once again.

* * *

James was still sitting on the sofa in his bedroom when he felt the ship shake, causing him to quickly jump up from his seat and run over to the viewing port. As he did, his face paled at the sight of a Sovereignty Annihilator firing upon them. James knew for a fact that this ship wasn't going to hold up long against a ship like that, and yet this first thought wasn't to evacuate, but instead to try and find the captain so that he could see if he could help in any way.

Running back into the main living compartment of his room on the ship, James saw all of his aids panicking in the room. "Your Highness, thank god you're alright," one of the aids said, causing James to smile at them briefly.

"Come on, we need to get you to an escape pod" James stated, causing all of the aids to nod. Apparently, only one of them picked up on the language he used.

"Are you not coming with us, your Highness?" the aid asked, causing James to shake his head.

"No, I need to get to the captain and see if there's anything I can do to help," James replied, causing all of them to nod. All of them had been in James' service for a while, so they knew better than to argue with him.

Following James' lead, the four of them made their way out of the room and into the corridors of the endangered ship. The lighting in the corridors had turned red as an alarm blared throughout, and James couldn't help but notice all of the people panicking around him. It seems the upper classes weren't prepared to face something like this, with all of them running around, screaming names as they tried to find their loved one.

"Everyone, please follow me! You need to evacuate the ship immediately!" James called out, but no one seemed to take any notice of what he was saying. "Everyone, please! You're all in danger! Follow me!" James shouted even louder, this time gaining some of their attention. Seeing that that was the best he was going to do, James began to lead everyone to the closest escape pod bay as the ship continued to be bombarded by fire.

In all of the chaos, James didn't even have time to consider why this was happening but as he led everyone through the corridors, he couldn't help but think back to what his mother had said, only minutes before. The ship shook again, knocking James from his thoughts as they finally reached the escape pod bay. Thankfully, there were already crew and security helping people into the vessels, so James knew that he didn't need to stay and help, instead making his way deeper into the ship as he headed towards the bridge.

The firing seemed to intensity, and James was certain by this point that the Elegance must have some type of shielding for them to survive this long. Well, it was either that or the fact that the Sovereignty Annihilator wasn't firing at full power, and James dreaded to see what that was like.

Refocusing on his mission, James continued to make his way towards the bridge, although, with the higher intensity of shots being fired, it seemed to get more difficult by the second. That's when he heard the explosions, and at first, his heart plummeted in his chest, thinking that the ship was beginning to explode. As he glanced out the closest viewport, however, he noticed that it was instead the escape pods being fired from the ship, and thankfully, from the opposite side to the Annihilator.

As James walked, he watched many of the pods be launched before jumping to sonic space and it helped settle his nerves slightly. At least his efforts weren't for nothing, but that thought only lasted for a brief second as he was plummeted into darkness. Even the emergency lighting wasn't working, and it was this moment that James had wondered whether he should have abandoned the ship with the rest of them.

Doubt seemed to fill his mind, wondering whether he'd made the right call before he heard the loud banging begin again. For a moment, he was filled with calm as he remembered all the lives he'd saved but as he glanced out the viewport, he wasn't greeted with the signs of escape pods launching. Instead, he was only greeted with the darkness of space and caused chills to go up his spine, knowing that this time, the ship was exploding.

Glancing around, James managed to make out the sign of an airlock on the wall, and following his best instincts, James began to follow it. However, as the explosions continued, the ship began to rock more violently from side to side and before James even had the chance to make it from the corridor he was in, he was hit by an exploding gas main, one that threw him against the wall.

The last thing he remembered was slumping down to the floor as his eyelids felt heavy and his head began to pound. As that happened, one thought crossed his mind.

'_This is it. This is the end.'_

* * *

**So there we have it! A very vague beginning to this story, but nonetheless, I hope you liked it! I've already got a plan for this story, one that was written very late last night, so I know exactly what direction this story is going to head in! Well, once I finish Blizzard and Colony that is! (And yes, I've purposely chosen to ignore A New Frontier in that list)**

**Anyway, I don't really have a lot to say, so let me know what you think of this and whether it's something you'd like to see continued. Other than that, I will see you Monday for the next chapter of Blizzard! But until then,**

**TTFN 😀👑**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Ascending Chaos! No chapter of Blizzard today, unfortunately, but I had half of this written so I thought I'd finish it off and get it out to you! Thank you for the response to the first chapter and I hope you enjoy this one!**

* * *

When James woke up, the first thing he found himself doing was taking in a massive deep breath of air, feeling it rush into his lungs.

_'I'm not dead!' _He found himself thinking, bringing his hands up in front of his eyes so that he could examine himself. What he was expecting to find, he wasn't exactly sure, but his heart rate seemed to settle slightly when he saw his hands.

With a small smile on his face, James pushed himself up from the bed he was sleeping on, before planting both feet down onto the floor, but it was in that moment that James found himself wondering where he was. Glancing around, James was greeted with what seemed to be the interior of a very…different ship type to what he was used to.

The walls were filled with loose cables and wires, and the bits that were covered seemed to be located behind brown panelling. Standing up from the bed, James continued to look around the room he was in, trying to gain some sort of idea as to where he was.

_'Maybe this is a rescue ship? Maybe someone was able to get aboard and rescue you before the Elegance exploded'_ James thought to himself but as he looked around, that was becoming less and less likely. He seemed to be in some sort of crew quarters, except only one bed was present, and there wasn't any storage space for belongings.

His curiosity piqued as to how he managed to end up here and James found himself heading towards the open door frame leading out into a corridor. As he walked up to it, however, James quickly realised that he was in fact sealed in, by a forcefield. He could hear the humming as he approached and a quick tap showed him what was keeping him encased, and kind of painfully at that. The shock was enough to act as a deterrent to stop him from doing it again. Taking a deep breath, James did the only other thing that he could think of.

"Hello?" The prince called out, hearing his voice echo around the ship briefly before he heard the sound of someone walking towards him. Taking a step back from the door frame, James readied himself for whatever was going to greet him, but that still didn't stop him from being shocked.

"So, you're finally awake! That's good!" His captor said, his blond hair just hanging slightly over his eyes.

"Where am I?" James asked, taking a step closer to the forcefield as if to examine his captor further.

"What, you're not going to thank me for saving your life?" His captor replied as James tried his best not to roll his eyes or snort. He knew that it was best in these situations to remain as neutral as possible.

Not that he'd ever been held hostage before.

"It's kind of difficult to do that when you're holding me captive" James replied, causing the captor to snort in response. "But you still haven't answered my question. Where am I?"

"You're aboard my ship, the Phoenix!" The captor said proudly, showing his pride for a vessel that James himself would deem sub-par.

"And may I ask why I'm here?" James replied, causing the captor to roll his eyes.

"Didn't you hear what I said? I saved your life. When the Elegance started to explode, I headed back to the airlock my ship was docked at but before I reached it, I saw you laid on the ground and I couldn't just leave you there could I" The captor replied, and this time, James let out a snort.

"And why not?" he asked, causing the captor to let out a little chuckle.

"Damn, you're really not grateful that I saved your life, are you? And here I thought Prince James Diamond would be thankful to be alive" the captor responded, causing James' eyebrows to raise slightly.

"So, you know who I am?" James asked, causing the captor to roll his eyes.

"Of course, I know who you are. The whole galaxy knows who you are"

"Well, since you know who I am, maybe you could introduce yourself" James stated, causing the captor to bring his hand up to his chin as if to consider it.

"I could, but then you'd know who I am" The captor stated, causing James to roll his eyes.

"So, I'm guessing from the forcefield and the anonymity that you're some kind of bounty hunter"

"Bounty Hunter, Smuggler, whatever pays really"

"So a criminal?" James stated bluntly, causing his captor to gasp slightly.

"That's slightly insulting and the term is 'freelancer.' Now, I'm really regretting saving your life" his captor said, causing James to nod.

"And there's still that question. Why did you save my life? As far as I'm concerned, there's no bounty on my head nor a reward for turning me in. For someone who wants to get paid, you haven't picked a very good target" James stated, causing his captor to shake his head, now leaning back against the wall opposite James' cell.

"Ahh, but that's where you're wrong. See, the whole galaxy has already heard that the Elegance has exploded and that means that your mother, the Queen of Cherria is going to be wondering if you're alive or not. So, all I have to do is nobly return you to her and I'll get a handsome pay-day" His captor stated, causing James to snort once again.

"Do you really think that that will happen? Especially after I tell them what you've done to me" James stated, causing his captor to let out a chuckle.

"And what have I done to you? Saved your life? Provided you with a room to say in?"

"You've locked me in a cell" James stated, causing his captor to shrug slightly.

"I'm only doing that for your safety. These older ships can be a little bit temperamental, especially the Phoenix, so by locking you in here, I'm ensuring that you don't get injured"

"Is that really how you're going to try and spin this? I'm not your prison, you're just keeping me captive for my own benefit"

"You're damn right," His captor said, with a smile gracing his face that, even James couldn't deny, was mildly intoxicating. "Now I suggest you rest up, buttercup. It's about a day journey back to Cherria from here in sonic space so you might as well get yourself comfortable."

"A day's journey? We were travelling for two days sub-sonic, so it should only take us three hours at max to get back to Cherria" James stated, causing his captor to flash him another award-winning smile.

"Not the way I'm taking us it won't" his captor stated, before heading back off into his ship leaving James on his lonesome.

What the captor didn't realise however is that that's when James works best.

* * *

Kendall let out a sigh as he reached the bridge of the Phoenix, dropping down into his seat as he did so.

"Can you believe some people? After I saved his life and everything and now he's being ungrateful because I've locked him in a room for 24 hours. That pompous, rich asshole" Kendall stated, glancing down to his partner on the helms console. "Don't look at me like that" Kendall stated, causing 2J-PW to tilt his head to the left slightly as it let out a series of beeps.

"You know exactly what I mean. It's that look of disappointment that you give me when you don't approve of something I've done. Besides, it's not like I'm doing anything bad. I've just rescued a Prince and I'm hoping to get a bit of cash for it. You know more than anyone that we need it" Kendall stated, nodding down at his droid, where it's the third leg was missing. 2J followed Kendall's eye line and moved the remaining servo a little bit as if to emphasis the point.

"Exactly, so after we get paid for this, I'll be able to get you a new leg and we'll be up and running. Plus, I'll be able to pay off my debt to Garboza because you know how funny he's getting about it all" Kendall continued, causing 2J to let out a series of upbeat beeps as if to agree.

"Exactly, so all we can do now is sit back, relax and not let this pompous, spoiled asshole get to us. I mean, seriously! Getting all funny about being locked in a room for 24 hours. Some of us have had a lot worse happen to us" Kendall grumbled, causing 2J to let out a low, sad-sounding beep.

Kendall just flashed the droid a sad smile before returning to piloting the ship, one of the things he enjoyed most about having his own ship.

* * *

It was about three hours later when Kendall heard James shouting out to him again. Letting out a sigh, Kendall rolled his eyes glancing down at 2J.

"Here we go again," Kendall said as he pushed himself up from his chair. When he noticed 2J hopping down from the controls, Kendall shook his head with a sad smile on his face. "I need you up here keeping an eye on the ship for me," Kendall said to the droid, causing it to let out a sad beep. "I know buddy, but I'll be back soon," Kendall said, causing 2J to hop back up onto the console.

With that, Kendall headed out of the bridge and towards the rear of the ship, where James was situated. As he did so, he noticed James hovering by the door.

"I have a question for you Captor" James stated, causing Kendall to let out a little sigh.

"Is that what you're going to call me? Captain also works just fine" Kendall replied, but the statement was completely ignored by James.

"You said that it was going to take us 24 hours to get back to Cherria, but all of the sonic routes from the Elegance's location would take three at the most, assuming we were close to where the Elegance was attacked. Plus, from what I can tell, we haven't dropped out of sonic space" James stated, causing Kendall to nod as he leant against the wall behind him.

"You're right" Kendall replied as he crossed his arms, while James' eyebrows raised.

"So, why aren't we back at Cherria yet? You said it would take us 24 hours to get back because of the way you're taking us, so what way is that?" James asked, causing Kendall to let out a little chuckle.

"The smuggler's way. You're right, that any sonic route from the Elegance's location would take us at most 3 hours but you're not considering the fact that this is a…less than legal ship and that the Sovereignty would impound it as soon as they saw it. Due to that, we're taking a different route." Kendall explained, causing James' eyes to widen slightly as his eyebrows raised further.

"But that's not possible. All sonic routes must be approved by the Sovereignty before use" James stated, causing Kendall to let out a little chuckle.

"Oh Prince, you really don't know a lot about the real world, do you?" Kendall asked rhetorically, causing James to stutter slightly as he went to answer. Instead, Kendall cut him off by speaking up again. "The Sovereignty don't know half of the routes that are in use and if they did, half of the galaxy wouldn't be able to work. Do you really think that smugglers, bounty hunters and criminals are going to use Sovereignty controlled sonic routes?" Kendall asked, causing James to stutter once again.

"Well, no…but I thought…well…what about the dangers of flying down unauthorised sonic routes? Isn't there the risk of flying into a star, or a planet?" James asked, causing Kendall to shrug.

"Sure, but I bet if you asked most people, they'd prefer that to the risk of running into a Sovereignty patrol. Besides, if you time it right, you might not always die if you sonic jump into a planet" Kendall stated, causing James to step back from the barrier, his face slightly confused. "So, it that all you wanted to know?" Kendall asked, pushing himself up off the wall as he approached the forcefield.

"Well, I was also wondering why your right eye is a brighter green than your left" James stated, causing Kendall's eyes to widen this time.

"You what?" Kendall asked, causing James to step forward a little.

"Yeah, I notice it earlier. Your right eye is a more vivid green than your left, why is that?" James asked, causing Kendall to step back for a brief second as he considered what James had asked.

What Kendall didn't realise, however, was that that was just what James needed.

Before Kendall even had a chance to respond, the forcefield blocking James' door disappeared, causing the brunet to charge at the blond, ramming him into the wall behind him. As Kendall slammed against it, James was quick to grab hold of the blond and spin him around, throwing Kendall into the room that he was just in. Kendall was quickly able to gain his footing and once he had, he went running towards James, but it was to no avail. As soon as Kendall reached the doorframe, he slammed straight into a forcefield and was flung back slightly, winding him.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" James asked from the other side of the forcefield, now standing in the same position Kendall was once in.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Kendall asked, gaining his breath back. "I've done nothing wrong!" Kendall stated, causing James to let out a laugh.

"Nothing wrong? You kept me locked in a room for three hours!" James replied, causing Kendall to roll his eyes as he dropped down onto the bed.

"Oh come on? Are you really still mad about that? I saved your life, I mean, surely you can give me a free pass" Kendall stated causing James to tut. "So, you've trapped me in here and now you're out there. What are you going to do now?" Kendall asked, causing James to roll his eyes like it was the most obvious question ever.

"I'm going to fly us back to Cherria and have you arrested for holding me hostage," James stated, causing Kendall to let out a little chuckle as he leant back on the bed slightly, leaning against the wall.

"There is one thing wrong with that statement and one thing you haven't considered. No one controls this ship apart from me and you may have captured me, but you've still got to deal with my shipmate. And let me tell you, TJ is a badass" Kendall said, causing James' face to pale ever so slightly.

"TJ?" James asked, swallowing a lump in his throat as Kendall nodded.

"That's right, TJ. So I suggest that you let me go and kindly step back into this room" Kendall replied, causing James to shake his head as he took a step away.

"I'm not going to let you lock me up again and then sell me back to my mother" James reprimanded, causing Kendall to shrug as he got comfortable.

"Alright, if that's how you want to play it, fine by me. But while you're planning to pilot us down Sovereignty sonic space routes, I'd keep in mind that a Sovereignty Annihilator fired on a defenceless cruise ship and we still don't know why. So, what do you think they're going to do if they find an unlicensed ship with two survivors on it?" Kendall asked, causing James to swallow another lump in his throat.

"What are you trying to say?" James asked, his voice filled with nerves.

"Nothing, just that, you know. We don't know why they fired on that ship, or more specifically on a ship with you on. Maybe it was just a coincidence and the Sovereignty have decided to start massacring citizens now or maybe it wasn't"

"You're just trying to scare me now. Nice try, but it's not going to work" James stated, shaking his head as he did so.

Shrugging, Kendall leant back a little bit more before a loud beep followed by flashing lights was broadcasted around the ship. James jumped at the sound and quickly turned in his spot trying to figure out what it was while Kendall on the other hand just stood up from the bed and headed towards the door frame.

"Looks like someone's sending us a transmission" Kendall stated before walking through the doorframe, not being affected by the forcefield at all. Walking up to James, Kendall just patted him on the shoulder twice before resting his hand there, amused by the look of confusion on James' face. "I told you Princess; I control this ship. Now come on. As a show of good faith, let's go take a look at this" Kendall said, before removing his hand and heading back to the bridge.

Stunned slightly, James was unsure what to do, so he just followed Kendall towards the front of the ship. Kendall was the first to walk into the bridge, speaking up as he did so.

"What's going on 2J?" Kendall asked as he walked in, causing James to raise an eyebrow.

"2J? I thought it was TJ?" James said as he walked into the bridge, but as soon as his eyes landed on the droid, he understood. Shaking his head, James listened as the droid let out a series of beeps. Kendall nodded along like he understood everything that was being said, whereas James was completely confused. "What did it say?" James stated, causing Kendall to turn to him, his eyes wide.

"Firstly, never refer to 2J as it. Either call him 2J or First Officer" Kendall stated, causing James to roll his eyes. "Secondly, 2J said that there's a galaxy-wide transmission being broadcast by the Sovereignty. 2J's scrambled our receiver so we're safe to check it out" Kendall explained to James causing him to nod along. "So, let's open it," Kendall said causing the droid to nod as he loaded the transmission.

As soon as it loaded up on the holo communicator, both James and Kendall's eyes widened at what they saw as they were stunned into silence.

* * *

**So, there we have it! James and Kendall have finally met, with Kendall holding James hostage for a little bit, and we also had a chat between Kendall and his partner 2J-PW before James tried to escape! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and trust me, this story is only getting started!**

**I want to say a massive thank you to Guest, Winterschild11 and RainbowDiamonds, and I'm so glad you enjoyed the last chapter! Like I said, things are only going to pick up from here so hopefully, this has enticed you enough to stick around!**

**I hope you've all had a great week, and have a nice New Year's and I will see you all next Monday for a chapter of Blizzard. But until then,**

**TTFN 😀👑 **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Ascending Chaos! So, yeah, I know I should probably be writing Blizzard and concluding that story, but I'm having a lot of fun writing this one at the moment, so this is what you get 😜 Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and let's crack on with it, shall we?**

* * *

"_Greeting Galaxy, and what a glorious day it is! This is fleet Admiral Atticus Moon, broadcasting from the once peaceful and prosperous world of Cherria" _The transmission played, James' hands flying up to cover his mouth as he shook he head, watching the transmission continue. _"I say once peaceful and prosperous as it seems that this world is ruled by a traitor to the Sovereignty" _Moon continued, now waving his hand, causing everyone to watch as Brooke was dragged onto the holocommunicator and thrown to her knees in front of Moon. _"Queen Brooke Diamond has been secretly funding the Resurgency, and supporting their stupidly ambitious goals of overthrowing our glorious rule." _

_"Scum!" _Brooke growled out, causing one of Moon's troopers to hit her back with a stun baton. As expected, Brooke began to shake due to the electric current that was running through her, causing James to gasp at the action, tears now forming in his eyes.

_"The Sovereignty cannot let such treachery stand, especially one that is funding our enemy, and therefore an example must be made of the renounced Queen of Cherria." _

_"You'll never get away with this! People out there will rally to support the Resurgency if you do! The Sovereignty is a corrupt, manipulative regime that has oppressed the people of the galaxy for too long, so mark my words, my death will only mark the beginning of your col-" _

A massive bang went off over the holocommunicator, followed by a small cloud of smoke which obscured everyone's view for a brief second, but that didn't seem to matter to James. He already knew what had happened, this whole body now shaking from shock, and it only seemed to get worse as the cloud of smoke cleared, only to show Brooke's body falling lifelessly to the floor. As if to rub more salt into the wound, Moon threw the blaster down onto her body before pulling a small handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the blood off his face. With that done, Moon turned back to the holocommunicator.

_"Cherria is now the property of the Sovereignty and from here on out, the last member of the Royal Family, Prince James Diamond, is to be branded as a traitor for supporting his mother's actions. A bounty of 10 million credits will be placed onto his head, redeemable if he is brought alive…or dead" _Moon stated, before walking off of the holocommunicator, leaving only Brooke's corpse in view.

Without even thinking about what to do next, James found himself reached out to Kendall.

Or more specifically, the gun the blond kept in his holster.

Kendall wasn't oblivious to this action, but by the time he turned around, James already had the gun pointed right at his face, causing the blond to raise his hands into the air.

"Don't you even think about it! I've been trained to use these so if you even take one step forward, I will shoot you, and that goes for the droid as well" James stated, using his free hand to wipe the tears falling his from his eyes.

"What's this all about?" Kendall asked, his hands still firmly in the air while 2J stayed where he was.

"You heard Moon, there's a bounty on my head for 10 million credits, and as you stated before, you'll do anything to get paid, so I say again, don't even think about it" James stated, the gun shaking in his hand as he continued to wipe the tears from his eyes.

"Look, Princess, whatever you want to believe about me, it should be clear that I don't do work with or for the Sovereignty. I mean, I literally told you that I'm not talking Sovereignty controlled sonic space routes, so why in the world would I decide to start taking them now?"

"Because of the fucking 10 million credits bounty that I have on my head!" James stated, taking one step away from Kendall, the gun still firmly pointed at him. "Now, I'm going to need you to get into an escape pod and launch yourself into space as I'm commandeering the ship," James said, taking another step back towards the door as he waved the gun in that general direction. "Now get moving, you and the droid!" James continued, taking one step further into the doorframe.

As soon as he did so, he felt an electric currently begin to pass through him, causing him to drop the gun as he shook. It was a few seconds after that, that James collapsed to the ground, passed out causing Kendall to turn to 2J, who had one of his legs in an access port.

"Really? I was trying to convince him that we didn't mean him any harm, and now you've gone and done that?" Kendall exclaimed, causing 2J to pull his leg free as he let out a series of both high and low beeps.

"Oh no, we're not counting this as you saved my life! He wasn't even going to shoot and if he was, you saw his aim, he probably would have hit the backboard. We're still at 5-12 on that scoreboard!" Kendall stated, causing 2J to let out a low, sad beep as if to concede.

"Now thanks to you, I have to try and lift him back into his room and then run more damage control when he wakes up" Kendall continued, causing 2J to let out a few beeps as he hopped down from the console and approached James' body.

"You must be joking" Kendall stated with exasperation. "We can't turn him over to the Sovereignty, no matter how much his bounty is. The poor guy just watched his mother get killed on a galaxy-wide broadcast, and whether we or he likes it or not, we're probably the last people he's got"

Walking over to James, Kendall grabbed both of his arms and began to drag the brunet towards the back of the ship, to the room he was originally in.

* * *

When James woke up, the first thing he noticed was the ache that seemed to be piercing through his skull. Not even opening his eyes, the thought flashed through James' mind that it was all just a horrible dream and that he was back on the Elegance, feeling the repercussions of a night drinking that he didn't remember.

That dream was shattered when he finally opened his eyes, revealing the dreary brown panelling and the exposed wiring that he, in all fairness, didn't want to see ever again.

"So, you're awake again" Kendall stated, causing James to groan and sit up from the bed. Facing towards the door, he noticed Kendall was on the floor outside his cell, his legs stretched out in front of him. "I'm sorry about the electric shock. I didn't know that 2J was planning to do that, and if I did, I certainly wouldn't have allowed it"

"Cut the bullshit" James stated, letting out a groan at the pounding in his head. "Stop trying to be all friendly and just tell me that we're on our way to the closest Sovereignty ship or territory and that while we travel, I'll be locked in this room. Well, I've gotten out once, so I can get out again" James stated, his eyes focused on the floor in front of him. When he saw a packet of pills land in that space, he looked up at Kendall with shock on his face.

"Take one of those, it'll get rid of the headache, and hopefully the bad attitude as well" Kendall stated, causing James to roll his eyes.

"Why should I trust them? For all I know, they could be drugs that knock me out for a week" James replied, causing Kendall to let out a little chuckle as he shook his head.

"Fine, don't take them but I can assure you that the only drugs in them are going to get rid of that headache. I know what it's like to be electrocuted, and the pain of the headache that accompanies it"

"Stop trying to be all nice and just cut to the fucking chase already. How far away are we? How long do I have before I'm killed off?" James asked, causing Kendall to push himself up from the floor and walk into James' room, showing the brunet that the forcefield isn't activated.

"Look, as I told you earlier, I'm not going to hand you over to the Sovereignty, and whether you like it or not, 2J and I are probably the last people you have."

"That still doesn't mean that I trust you" James stated, causing Kendall to roll his eyes.

"You know what, you've just been through a lot, so I'm going to let this dickish attitude slide. Once you're in a better headspace, and you're not being so much of a dick, come find me on the bridge and we can talk about what to do next" Kendall said as he turned around, and walked out of the room before stopping just past the door frame. "I know what it's like to lose family as well, so if you do want to talk about it" Kendall shrugged instead of finishing the sentence, before finally disappearing from James' view, leaving nothing but the packet of pills on the ground and the brown panelling.

With Kendall out of view, James finally let his emotions catch up to him as he sobbed into his hands over the death of his mother. She truly was the only family that he had, and while he hated to admit it in a moment like this, he always knew something like this would happen.

He always told her that the Sovereignty was going to catch onto what she was doing, but she never listened to him. The sobbing intensified at that, James now blaming himself for what had happened. Maybe if he'd pushed a little harder, then she would have stopped and none of this would have happened.

Then maybe she wouldn't be dead.

James couldn't wipe the tears away from his eyes quick enough as they just kept falling. One seemed to be replaced with two and at that moment, James didn't know what to do with himself. He was stuck on a ship with a complete stranger and a psychotic droid somewhere in the universe and he knew that he had no one to go to.

Anyone who was tied to him or his mother was probably being punished, tortured or executed for just being associated to him and what made it worse was that, with a 10 million credit bounty on his head, he knew that wherever he went, he'd now have bounty hunters coming after him.

He was truly alone.

'_Whether you like it or not, 2J and I are probably the last people you have' _the sentence played through his head, causing James to pull his hands away from his eyes, only for them to land on the packet of pills on the ground. What the hell was he thinking? He couldn't trust the guy that had kidnapped him just for a reward.

Could he?

Reaching down, James grabbed the packet of pills from the floor, his mind now focusing back onto the pounding in his head. There was no way that he was going to get off or take over this ship, that had been made clear to him twice so maybe he didn't have a choice but to trust them. Staring at the packet in his hands, James finally opened at and held a pill in his hand.

At best, it would get rid of this headache and show that, at least for the moment, his captor was true to his word and at worse, he'd wake up in a week as he was just about to be executed. Not having much to lose anymore, James popped the pill into his mouth and swallowed it before waiting for what was going to come next. A minute passed and nothing happened to him.

Well, apart from his headache subsiding, nothing happened to him.

Whether that was a blessing or a curse however was still to be determined. At least he wasn't in pain anymore, but with that gone, all he could focus on how was the mental image of his mother being shot, causing his emotions to whirlwind once again. Sorrow flooded in first, causing tears to well in his eyes once again, but this time, anger accompanied it with the face that committed the crime burning itself into his mind.

Atticus Moon, the fleet admiral of the Sovereignty but that was all just a front. Everyone knew that he was the person leading the Sovereignty. His mother had told him the stories about how he'd risen to power, about how with the Civil War going on, Moon had kept being granted more and more emergency powers until he basically usurped the Commonwealth and taken over the dictatorship.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, realisation finally dawned on James as to why she had done this, as to why she had begun to fund the Resurgency. It was for this reason so that planets worth of people didn't have to go through what he was going through right now, the loss and the grief that he was feeling. Wiping the final bout of tears from his eyes, James finally understood what he needed to do.

He needed to continue his mother's work, to continue to fight for freedom in her name. Pushing himself up from the bed, James made his way out of the room, trying to push down the thoughts that were telling him that he was only doing this for revenge and not for the right reason because he was. He was doing this so that he could get justice for not only his mother but also everyone else who had died to the Sovereignty.

Still, James tried to suppress the thought that another word for justice was vengeance.

* * *

Kendall sighed as he walked the news broadcast that was being transmitted across the galaxy. Everything was circulating around the death of Queen Brooke Diamond as well as the destruction of the Elegance that the Sovereignty had apparently proclaimed earlier that day. Their justification for the act?

The fact that Prince James Diamond was on the ship, so apparently the 'traitor' had to be culled. To be honest, as bad as the situation was, Kendall couldn't help but feel a little bit smug at the fact that he'd disrupted that plan for them, even though they'd now gotten one back over him. Hearing footsteps approaching, Kendall turned off the broadcast before giving 2J a stern look, which conveyed to the droid that he shouldn't do anything unless it was explicitly ordered.

2J just lowered his head slightly, so Kendall took that as a sign of submission before spinning in his chair just as James walked through the doorway. Kendall couldn't help but notice that James tensed ever so slightly as he did so but as soon as he was on the other side, he relaxed ever so slightly.

"It appears that I don't have much choice but to trust you" was the first thing James stated, heading for the other chair on the bridge and taking a seat. "Still, I'd feel a bit better if I knew who you were"

"The name's Kendall," Kendall said, causing James' eyes to widen slightly.

"Alright, what's your angle? First, the anonymity and now you just straight up tell me. Plus, the whole not wanting to cash in on the bounty. Surely you must have some sort of angle"

"I see you're still in a dickish mood" Kendall stated, causing James to roll his eyes as he shook his head.

"Fine, don't tell me. As I said, I don't have much of a choice either way so better the devil I know"

"That's the spirit, Princess!" Kendall stated, before closing his mouth quickly, stopping himself from asking he should refer to James as 'King' now since that's technically what he is. Still, it was probably too soon for that. "So, the real question is, what do we do now?" Kendall asked, causing James to let out a deep sigh.

"We continue on our original course, and go to Cherria" James replied, causing Kendall's eyes to widen this time.

"I'm sorry what?" The blond asked out of shock, causing James to let out another soft sigh.

"My mother always told me that if anything ever happened to her, I needed to get this ring. Apparently it was my father's or something, I don't know, but my mother always told me that I needed to get hold of it before the Sovereignty did"

"Hold on, wait just a second. You want to go back to Cherria, a planet that is currently being blockaded and invaded by the Sovereignty, just so you can get a ring? There are so many things wrong with that statement! For one, how do you even know that the Sovereignty doesn't have the ring already! Also, did I mention the part about the planet being literally invaded by the very people you're…we're trying to avoid! You've got to be crazy to think I'll go there, all for just a ring!" Kendall stated, causing James to push himself up from his seat.

"Fine then, drop me off at the nearest port and I'll make my way there alone. I know it sounds insane but it's the only thing I can think of to do and I know my mother wouldn't have told me about this ring if it weren't important" James said, wiping the tears that had welled in his eyes as he turned away towards the door. "But that doesn't matter. Just drop me at the closest port and I'll go alone. So much for the only people I have left" James stated, causing Kendall to roll his eyes as he shook his head.

"Fine, we'll attempt the suicide mission and go to Cherria" Kendall stated, causing James to turn back towards him. "But we have to make one stop first. As I said, Cherria is going to be swarming with Sovereignty vessels meaning that we wouldn't even make it to the planet. For that, we're going to need a Sovereignty transponder to fool their sensors, and there's only one place I know where we can get one of those" Kendall continued, turning back towards the helm as he started tapping away at different buttons.

"Where's that?" James asked, sitting back down in the seat next to Kendall, who's hand was currently on the sonic space activator.

"The Destitute" Kendall replied, before pushing the lever forward, plunging the Phoenix into sonic space, starting the first leg of many for their journey.

* * *

**So there we have it! A lot has happened in this chapter, and now Kendall and James are starting the first part of their journey! As I said before, I'm having a lot of fun writing this at the moment, and I have a lot planned for it, so let me know what you think!**

**I want to say a massive thank you to Guest, Winterschild11 and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter and I'm so glad you're enjoying it! You all seem to be loving the banter between Kendall and James which I'm glad about as there is certainly more of that to come, so don't worry!**

**Anyway, I hope you've all had a good two weeks and that this week is just as good! I will see you all next Monday for the next chapter of whatever I decide to write, but until then,**

**TTFN! 😀👑**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi Guys and welcome back to Ascending Chaos! **

**A few things I want to briefly cover, firstly, a bit of a shorter chapter today and I'm sorry if this chapter is a little bit disjointed! It was written over the space of about two weeks so it might that way! Secondly, I'm sorry about the lack of upload last week, but hopefully I'll be able to get back on an actual schedule now that exam season is over! Thirdly, within the next couple of weeks, I'm hoping to post a short story for the Valentine's Day Challenge! I have the pairing and the story all planned out, so I just have to write it, although we all know how good I am at that haha! But yeah, keep an eye out for that within the next couple of weeks!**

**Now that my little ramble is over, let's crack on with this, shall we?**

* * *

"Destitute? Doesn't that mean extremely poor? How are a group of poor people supposed to help us if they can't even help themselves?" James asked, causing Kendall to roll his eyes.

"First off, you might wanna put your privilege in check especially considering that you now also have nothing and are extremely poor yourself" Kendall began, causing James' eyes to widen as the realisation hit. "And secondly, the Destitute is an old civil warship that flies around the outer edge of the galaxy. It's basically a flying city that acts as a safe haven for people who are running away from the Sovereignty as well as criminals and the like looking for work" Kendall explained, causing James to raise his eyebrows.

"Ok, so now I have two questions" James stated, causing Kendall to glance over to him. "Firstly, how has this ship avoided detection for so long? Surely the Sovereignty knows about it and I can't imagine they'd want to keep a hive of criminals flying"

"The Destitute avoids them by constantly travelling. The ship is always on the move through uninhabited solar systems and then every couple of days, the ship jumps to a new location, so it can't be tracked"

"Ok, now I have a question building on that one. If the ship is constantly jumping around the outer edge, then how do people find it? You just go to a system and hope for the best?" James asked, causing Kendall to let out a little chuckle.

"No, the Destitute sells maps including the next couple of systems that it's going to jump to. Every time you're on board, you just make sure to buy one. If the Sovereignty gets wind of that, however, and they attack, then the ship just jumps away and then it's sheer luck trying to find it. Normally, they'll send out an encrypted transmission of its location, and the cycle starts again" Kendall explained, causing James to nod along with him, the brunet trying to stop himself from saying what a horrible idea the whole thing was.

"Alright, my second question relates back to something that you asked me. Are you crazy?" James stated, causing Kendall to glance at him, one eyebrow raised.

"What?" Kendall asked, causing James to roll his eyes.

"You just said to me that this ship is literally filled with criminals and you think it's a good idea to take me there? What if I get recognised and one of them tries to claim the bounty that's on my head!" James exclaimed, causing Kendall to shake his head.

"Trust me, everyone on the Destitute has as much of a reason to be avoiding the Sovereignty as you do. Plus, once you get a new look, you'll be hardly recognisable." Kendall stated, causing James to tilt this head slightly.

"New look?" he asked causing Kendall to nod as he pushed himself up from the captain's chair.

"Yeah. You're a fugitive now, did you really think that you would stay in that?" Kendall asked, pointing at James' once perfectly pressed and clean suit. Now, it was creased and had a few marks on it, but it was still looked as pretentious as ever. "That suit would give you away immediately, which is why you're going to have to change into some simpler clothes. Plus, your hair cut is too recognisable, so we'll have to chop some of it off and make it look a little scruffier" Kendall explained, causing James' hands to fly up to his hair.

"You're not touching my hair! I've spent years getting it to grow like this"

"And now it's going to have to come off. Sorry Princess, but like I said, you're on the run now and the first thing you do when you're on the run is a style change" Kendall stated, resting his hand on James' shoulder. "Now come on. We've got about half a day until we get to the Destitute, so go rest up for a little bit and then we can get started"

* * *

James sat begrudgingly in the chair that Kendall had placed out for him, and as he did so, he refused to look in the mirror set in front of him. There was no way that James could bear to watch what was about to happen to him, so instead, the brunet closed his eyes hoping it would all be over soon. Of course, while closing his eyes stopped him from watching what was going on, it certainly didn't stop him hearing and feeling the whole ordeal.

He heard the scissors snip through the first chunk of his hair and felt as it landed on his shoulder causing him to let out a soft whimper. Kendall's hands paused briefly at the sound as if to question if it had actually happened but as he snipped the second chunk away, the sound was made again causing him to pull the scissors away from James' hair.

"Are you crying?" Kendall asked bluntly, now staring at James in the mirror, who had his eyes tightly closed. James didn't say anything in response, he just shook his head briefly causing Kendall to continue snipping away once he'd stopped. It was a couple of minutes later, when Kendall turned away to get the razor that James made the sound again, and as Kendall turned back to the mirror, he could see the tear streaks down James' face.

"You are crying! Are you seriously crying over your hair?" Kendall asked, causing James to turn towards him.

"I told you, I'm not!" James snapped back, causing Kendall to roll his eyes.

"Look, your Majesty, I know you have some weird connection to your hair or something, but I'm telling you that if you want to live, this needs to be done"

"It's not your Majesty" James responded, causing Kendall to tilt his head to the side.

"What?" the blond asked, causing James to wipe the tears from his eyes before rolling them.

"Your Majesty only refers to kings and queens, it's your royal highness for princes" James continued, but as he got to the end of the sentence, his voice began to trail off slightly as if realisation was hitting him like a brick wall. "But now that my mother is dead, I suppose I technically am King" James stated, the tears beginning to fall from his eyes as he said the words.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine" James stated, wiping the tears from his eyes rather rapidly as he turned back towards the mirror. "And I'd appreciate it if you continued whatever you were doing" he continued, causing Kendall to raise an eyebrow.

"Woah hold on a second. One minute you're crying cause I'm cutting your hair and the next you're asking me to carry on with it? Don't you want to talk about this?" Kendall asked, causing James to shake his head.

"Talk about what? The fact that my mother is dead? Or the fact that everything about my past is suddenly being ripped away from me because of some dickhead that put a price on my head?" James stated, turning in his chair to face Kendall again. "No, I don't want to talk about this. What I want is for us to get to this stupid fucking ship, full of criminals and the like so we can get a transponder and return to my fucking home planet. Is that too much to fucking ask?" James snapped, causing Kendall to put his hands in the air in surrender.

"Fine, whatever" Kendall conceded, causing James to turn back towards the mirror as Kendall continued shaving James' hair down a little bit more. Another few minutes passed before James let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped like that" the brunet stated, making eye contact with Kendall in the mirror.

"It's alright. You're grieving and we all go about it in different ways. Apparently yours is to be a dick" Kendall replied, causing James to let out a little chuckle, the response Kendall was hoping for.

"And just for clarification, I'm not crying solely because you're cutting my hair, it's the combination of everything that's happened and as I said, I feel like everything I know is being ripped from me all because of Atticus Moon" James explained, causing Kendall to nod along.

He knew what that was like all too well. Pushing down those thoughts and feeling, Kendall continued to listen to James as he spoke.

"Hopefully, when we get to Cherria and find this ring, I can start to get justice for my mother, but until then, let's just focus on the task at hand" James finished, finally turning back around in his chair, causing Kendall to continue shaving hair.

By the end of it, James' hair had become cropped at the sides, with only a small fringe now lying across his forehead, instead of being long all over. As Kendall began to pack everything away, he couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

"We've still got quite a while until we reach the Destitute. Why don't you go lie down and I'll wake you when we get there" the blond said, causing James to finally glance away from his reflection. With a brief nod, James pushed himself up from the chair and made his way back towards the rear of the ship, where he laid down on the bed he felt like he'd spend a lot of his time on already.

Still, as he laid there, he tried to push down all of the thoughts that kept trying to surface, knowing that Kendall was right and that he needed to get some rest. However, that didn't stop the rogue tears that fell from his eyes and as he rolled onto his side, facing away from the door, the tears fell in full force once again. The thought about already crying enough quickly surfaced but that still didn't stop more tears from falling.

Laying there, James just let himself cry it out until he eventually succumb to a rather restless bout of sleep.

* * *

"_Princes don't cry James and I can tell out now that Kings certainly don't" His mother scolded him as he huddled in bed letting the tears fall from their eyes. "If you're going to rule this planet one day, you certainly can't cry every time something happens that you don't like" His mother's voice continued, causing James to turn towards it. _

_"But mother, it's unfair!" James pouted causing Brooke to roll her eyes at the sight of her son. _

_"Life's unfair James, and sooner or later, you're going to have to learn this! Now ready your things. In the morning, you're being sent to the keep in the mountains. The castle is far too dangerous for you to be in at the moment" Brooke continued, causing James to let out another sob. _

_"But mother! I want to stay with you!" James sniffled, causing Brooke to cross her arms at him. _

_"I've told you, James, it's far too dangerous. One day when you're older, you're going to thank me for this. But until then, pack your things!" Brooke stated, causing James to roll over in his head. "Don't you dare ignore me, young boy. James! James!-"_

* * *

"James?"

James jumped at the word, before quickly glancing around the room, only to see Kendall a few paces away from the bed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Kendall said, causing James to shake his head as he pushed himself up from the bed, trying to push the memory out of his mind.

"It's fine, don't worry about it" James replied, rubbing his hand over his eyes to remove the sleep from them. "So I'm guessing we're approaching the Destitute?" James asked, causing Kendall to nod.

"Yeah, we're about 10 minutes out, so I thought I'd give you time to get changed and ready. The change of clothes are just over there, meet me on the bridge when you're ready" Kendall replied, causing James to nod before the blond exited the room.

With Kendall gone, James finally let out a sigh as he rubbed his hands over his eyes once again. He hadn't thought about that memory in ages. It was when he was four and the Civil War had gotten a bit closer to Cherria, so his mother sent him to the mountains to keep him safe. Thankfully, the war never reached their planet as it did many other but that didn't mean that the impacts of it didn't.

Shaking his head, as if to remove the thoughts, James grabbed the other set of clothes and began to change into them, immediately noticing how different they were to the set he was wearing before. The top seemed to itch and the trousers were just a bit too short for him.

Still, as Kendall had said to him earlier that day, he was on the run now, so sacrificed definitely had to be made. With one last deep breath, James stepped out of the room and began to make his way to the bridge, both slightly excited and anxious as to what the next couple of hours would hold.

* * *

**So there we have it! The death of James' mother is still very raw as you'd expect it to be so he's still learning how to try and cope with that. Kendall's still trying to be as helpful as he can, and I thought adding a bit about James' hair would be pretty humorous considering how he was in the show!**

**I want to say a massive thank you to Winterschild11, Guest and RainbowDiamonds and I'm so glad that you liked it! You all seemed to like that Kendall's going to help James out instead of turning him in and hopefully you'll like this chapter as well!**

**Anyway, I hope you all have a great week and I will see you next Monday, probably for the next chapter of this if we're being honest! But until then,**

**TTFN 😀👑**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello Everyone and welcome back to Ascending Chaos! I'm super excited to get this chapter out to you today! Before we get started, I thought I should let you know that I'm hoping to get my Valentine's Day story out this Friday, so please keep an eye out for that! Anyway, let's crack on with this, shall we?**

* * *

"_Phoenix, this is the Destitute. Docking bay 5 has been assigned to you. Please make your way there_" James overheard as he walked onto the bridge, causing the brunet to watch as Kendall nodded.

"Copy that Destitute, we'll dock their now" Kendall responded, before turning off the communicator causing James to let out a little hum.

"I wasn't expecting a ship of criminals to be this organised" James stated, causing Kendall to roll his eyes before turning to face the brunet.

"I told you earlier, it's not just a ship of criminals. There are also people who are looking for safety" Kendall responded, before looking over James. "You look good. The clothes and haircut should help you blend right in" Kendall continued, now pushing himself up from the captain's chair as he began to walk towards the airlock.

"Great, now I look just like the common vagrant" James replied, as he followed Kendall, itching his side as he did so. "Although, I feel like I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the top is itchy as hell"

"Well, don't worry, you can change back into your suit soon. Just follow me, keep your head down and this should all be over soon. The quicker we get this transponder, the quicker we can move onto this suicide mission you're so adamant to pursue" Kendall stated before the two of them felt the ship land, with the ship bouncing up and down for a brief second. "Stay with the ship 2J to make sure that nothing happens when we're gone," Kendall ordered causing the droid to let out a series of beeps. With a nod, Kendall went to lower the airlock ramp before freezing ever so slightly. "And keep the engines primed in case we need a quick getaway" he continued, causing 2J to let out a few more beeps as Kendall finally pushed the button.

"Well, that's promising" James mumbled to himself causing Kendall to let out a little chuckle as they watched the ramp lower. "Don't worry Princess, I'll keep you safe," Kendall stated, turning his head to face James.

The ramp must have completely lowered at this point as James' face turned from curious to mortified.

Turning back around, Kendall saw the bustling docking port that they'd landed on, causing him to let out a little chuckle as he placed a hand on James' shoulder.

"Welcome to the real world," Kendall stated, tapping James on the back twice before walking down the ramp.

James was quick to follow the blond, now worried that he'd get lost what he could only assume was hordes of the great unwashed.

* * *

"I seriously don't know how you can navigate a place like this" James stated as he followed Kendall through the hallways, trying his hardest not to touch anyone else or the walls. "I've been here a few times, so I just know my way around. You'll get used to it as well once you've been here as many times as I have"

"If that ever happens, I want you to shoot me between the eyes" James mumbled back, causing Kendall to let out a little chuckle.

"Come on, it's not that bad. People are going about their business just like us. Think of it as a massive shopping centre and you'll be fine" Kendall stated, causing James to roll his eyes as he followed Kendall around a corner, before getting a little closer to the blond.

"Ok, so the only shopping centres that I've been too have been hired out for me and my friends so there aren't any other people there when we shop. This is a whole new experience for me" James replied, causing Kendall to chuckle in surprise as his eyebrows rose slightly.

"You can't be serious. You're telling me that you've never been in a busy crowd before?"

"Of course I have" James scoffed. "It's just, I was normally surrounded by bodyguards and they kept people away from me"

"So, the actual answer to that question is no" Kendall concluded, causing James to roll his eyes. "As I said on the ship, I'll look after you. You just need to keep close and not make eye contact with anyone" Kendall continued, causing James to nod.

"That's not going to be too difficult" James replied, his eyes solely fixated on Kendall as the two of them stepped into a lift.

Thankfully it was only the two of them in there, so James felt like he could speak freely for a brief second.

"So how long do you think we're actually going to be here. I felt like I've already been here for hours and I definitely need a shower"

"Well, there are communal showers so if you wanna pop into those you can"

"Ha Ha," James replied with the most sarcastic tone he could muster, staring blatantly at Kendall. "And I'm being serious. I'm starting to feel a little, I don't know, exposed? I feel like everyone is looking at me. I'm still not sure why I was needed here in the first place" James continued, causing Kendall to let out a soft sigh.

"I promise we won't be here for much longer. Once we meet the guy, I promise we'll turn tail and get straight out of here" Kendall said before glancing briefly at James. "And as for why you're here. It's because I wouldn't put it past you to try and steal my ship again" Kendall said, with a cheeky grin on his face, causing James to roll his eyes once again.

With the lift door open, the two of them began to make their way towards the meeting room, as James continued the conversation.

"Oh please. I think I learned my lesson. Your droid clearly has an itchy trigger finger and I'm not tempting him again" James stated, Kendall, laughing as he shook his head. As the two of them approached the room.

Kendall turned his attention back towards the door, which when opened, caused his eyes to widen and his jaw to drop slightly.

"I'm so glad that you could make it"

* * *

James shuffled awkwardly as he stood behind Kendall, the blond now having a gun pointed directly at his chest. James had no clue what was going on, but he was trying his hardest not to say 'I told you so' at the idea that everyone on the ship was a criminal.

"Garboza, what are you doing here?" Kendall asked as he swallowed the lump in his throat, causing the guy with the gun to usher both James and Kendall out of the lift.

"Well, when I received word that you were coming back to the Destitute, I just knew I had to be here to meet you. I mean, after all, we did promise, you did promise that you'd have my money by now" Garboza shrugged causing Kendall to swallow the second lump in his throat.

"I know I did, and I thought that I would, but complications arose. As you know the Elegance was destroyed and that had my store on it"

"So, that's what you were doing on the Elegance!" James stated, causing Kendall to turn and glare at him, James' mouth immediately closing.

"Who do we have here? A new recruit?" Garboza said, now walking up to James, who subtly moved so that he was hiding behind Kendall.

"He's no one, just some cheap labour I picked up" Kendall stated, causing Garboza to raise his eyebrows while James couldn't help but scoff.

"Are you sure? I can't help but feel like I recognise him" Garboza stated, James flinching as Garboza reached out to him.

"Look, I'll get you your money I promise. I just need a few more days, and I'll pay you in full, plus extra" Kendall said, causing Garboza to turn to him. "I just need a little more time."

"See, Knight, I would believe you, except you've used this excuse three times now and I'm still waiting for something back"

"It's thrice" James interrupted, causing both Kendall and Garboza to look at him.

"What?"

"It's 'thrice'. When you do something three times, it's called thrice"

"I don't think this is really helping," Kendall said to James through gritted teeth, causing the brunet to hold up his hands in surrender.

"Alright, sorry, I just get correctional when I'm nervous"

"Well maybe, you should just be quiet and let me handle this"

"Alright, enough of this bickering!" Garboza interrupted as the guy with the gun emphasised that he was still holding it. "I swear I recognise you"

"You don't, he's nobody," Kendall said once again, directing Garboza's attention back to him. "Look, I said I will get you the money and I will, I promise. Please, just a few more days, and I'll get it to you"

"Or, we do this my way. As of this moment, the Phoenix and everything on her belongs to me, including that pesky little droid of yours. As for you and this 'nobody' well, you'll just have to be taught a lesson." Garboza stated, nodding towards the guy with the gun. Knowing exactly what his boss meant, the guy charged the gun and pointed it directly at Kendall's forehead, causing James to gasp as he brought his hands up to his mouth.

"Wait, you can't do this!" James pleaded, causing Garboza to scoff at him.

"Why not, he owes me fifty thousand credits"

"Is that it?" James asked, causing Kendall to roll his eyes as James' privilege began to show itself. "That's pocket change"

"You're not helping" Kendall growled out causing James to shut his mouth once again.

Of course, by that point, it was too late as Garboza as clocked who James was. The man didn't say anything at first, instead walking over and pushing the gun down, away from Kendall's face.

"Now that's my boy," Garboza said, pulling Kendall into a hug as he laughed, causing both the blond and the brunet to grow confused looks on their faces. "Now I know why you were so insistent that you could get me the money," Garboza said, pulling out of the hug before pushing Kendall out of the way, leaving James exposed. "Your royal highness," Garboza said, bowing at James, causing Kendall to let out a deep sigh.

"Fuck" Kendall mumbled as James' eyes widened with fear with Garboza turning back round to face the blond.

"You've managed to bag the biggest bounty out there and you didn't want to tell me because you thought I'd try and take him from you"

"No, it's not that at all!" Kendall replied, causing Garboza to let out a hearty chuckle.

"Well, my boy, you did the right thing, cause you were right. He's my bounty now" Garboza continued, turning back towards the man with the gun. "Execute Knight, we don't need him anymore, we've got a far biggest prize" That caused the gun to be raised to Kendall's head once again as Garboza grinned viciously at James. "That bounty is redeemable alive or death right?" Garboza asked, causing James' eyes to widen significantly as he swallowed the lump in his throat.

"James, I'm sorry" Kendall stated, causing James to glance over at the blond.

Before he had a chance to respond however, the room was plunged into a deep red as an alarm started to sound throughout the ship. Within mere seconds of that, everyone in the room was knocked off balance as the ship was jolted to the side, the sound of gunfire finally reaching their eyes.

"Oh fuck" Garboza was the first to say as he realised what was happening and that's when a voice came over the speakers.

_"Attention Destitute. This is the Sovereignty vessel Instigator. You are in violation of Sovereignty law and are therefore required to surrender. This is our last warning, and we will open fire if you do not comply" _

"Open fire? They've already shot at us!" James exclaimed before the room went silent as they all heard a whirring coming from above.

"Oh fuck," Kendall said this time, the noise sounding all too familiar. "Get down!" Kendall called out, causing both him and James to duck in their places.

Before Garboza even had a chance to react, they all heard the Destitute's cannons fire back and before long, an all-out battle had commenced. As expected, the Annihilator started to fire back, rocking the Destitute once again.

Thankfully, James and Kendall had braced themselves, so they were prepared for it, whereas Garboza and the guy with the gun were knocked to their feet. In the moment of reprieve, Kendall jumped to his feet and sprinted towards the door, grabbing the brunet's hand in the process.

"Shoot them!" The two of them heard Garboza shout and just as they had ducked out of the room, they watched a bolt follow them and dissipate into the wall. James was stunned for a brief second, but Kendall tugging on his hand snapped him out of it pretty quick.

"Don't stop come on, we've got to get to the Phoenix!" Kendall shouted over the sound of the cannon's firing causing James to nod, trying to remain focused.

The two of them ran back towards the lift shaft, their hands firmly still in each other's but as they reached the metal cylinder, both of them watched as the lift they were supposed to be boarding shot past them.

They didn't need to glance over the edge into the shaft to know that it had reached the bottom as they loud bang alerted them to it.

"So where now?" James asked panicked as he turned back towards Kendall.

"Come on, we need to find a staircase. The hangar deck is only a few floors above us!" Kendall replied just before a bolt hit the wall right beside James' head.

The both of them quickly glanced over to see Garboza and the guy with the gun shooting at them, causing Kendall to once again drag James as they began to run through the corridors. The gunfire seemed to intensify as they ran and James tried his best not to think about it, or how similar the situation was to the Elegance.

"Where the fuck is a staircase? I mean come on!" James screamed as they ran, causing Kendall to quickly glance from side to side.

"I think I see them!" Kendall yelled back, dragging James towards the bottom of the staircase. As they approached, however, the alarm seemed to blare louder, causing James to quickly cover his ears.

_"Intruders on deck 27" _sounded throughout the ship, causing Kendall to let out a deep breath.

"Oh fuck," the blond said as the two of them began to climb the stairs.

"Intruders? What do they mean intruders?"

"It means that the Sovereignty has started to board the ship, probably by assault pods."

"Why would they do that?" James asked, causing Kendall to glance over at him briefly. "Oh fuck," James said this time as the realisation hit him.

"Look, it's going to be ok. The hangar bay isn't far, and I can guarantee that with everything going on, 2J has the ship ready to go. We just need to get there, and we'll be fine" Kendall stated, but James didn't seem so convinced, with the brunet frantically looking around panicked. "James, we're going to be fine! Just stick close!" Kendall said, causing James to nod, the blond squeezing his hand as a sign of reassurance.

As the two of them finally reached the floor of the hangar bay, Kendall pulled his gun from his holster, something that James didn't miss.

"It's just a precaution" Kendall reassured, before tapping on the door control, causing it open. As it did, the two of them were presented with a fairly clear hallway and the door to the hangar bay on the other side, causing James to let out a sigh. "Ok, so when I say so, I need you to run right towards the hangar bay and straight to the Phoenix. Whatever you hear, unless I tell you too, don't stop ok"

"Ok" James replied, causing Kendall to take one last glance.

"Ok, run!" Kendall said, and James didn't need to be told twice.

The brunet sprinted as fast as he possibly could down the hallway, Kendall not far behind him at all, and just as they reached the doors to the hangar bay, that's when the gunshots started. Thankfully, once the two of them had passed the hangar bay door, Kendall shot the controls, causing it to seal behind them.

With a renewed determination, James sprinted faster until he reached the ramp of the Phoenix when he finally looked back to Kendall. The blond wasn't far behind, causing James to let out a sigh before his eyes glanced over at the door.

Within moments, the area was covered by smoke before bolts started to fly through it, hitting all around him.

"I said don't stop!" Kendall said as he grabbed James' hand once again and dragged him up the ramp. "2J, let's get out of here!" Kendall called out, ramming his fist into the door controls, causing the door to close behind him before the blond made his way towards the bridge.

James followed close behind and as they reached the control centre, they were faced with their next problem.

"Let me take over," Kendall said, causing 2J to beep as Kendall sat himself down in the captain's chair.

"The hangar doors are closing," James said, watching as the metal shutters began to fill the once empty space. "We're not going to make it"

"We're going to make it" Kendall responded as he pushed the accelerator lever, causing the Phoenix to speed up.

"We're not going to make it," James said, more forcefully this time as he grabbed hold of the headrest on Kendall's seat.

"We're going to make it" Kendall reinforced as they approached the closing doors with more speed.

"I'm telling you; we're not going to make it!" James practically yelled this time, as the doors reached their last section.

In one swift motion, Kendall began a barrel roll with the Phoenix, and just as the ship had reached a ninety-degree tilt, they slipped through the doors before they slammed shut.

"See Princess, I told you we'd make it"

"Of course, now we have a new problem" James replied, staring directly at the Sovereignty Annihilator shooting at the Destitute and by connection, them as well.

"2J, prep the sonic drive, we need to get as far away from here as fast as possible" Kendall ordered, causing 2J to let out a series of beeps before plugging his leg into a socket.

The two of them heard explosions sounding from behind them, causing both Kendall and James to glance at the screen showing the rearview.

"What about the Destitute?" James asked and just as he spoke, they both watched as the Destitute jumped to sonic space, causing them both to let out a sigh.

"It seems like they'll be alright. Now, I suggest we get out of here" Kendall stated, returning his gaze to 2J.

With a few more beeps being let out, the Phoenix finally jumped to sonic space, causing both Kendall and James to let out a sigh.

* * *

James sighed as he dropped down onto his bed, his heart finally calming down from all of the 'excitement' that he'd had to deal with during the day. As he bent down to untie his shoelaces, he heard a subtle knocking on the door frame, causing him to look up.

"Just wanted to see how you were holding up," Kendall asked, causing James to let out a sigh as he continued his previous task.

"I'm alright. Just grateful to be back to safety" James stated, as he slipped off his shoes. "Still, I suppose I can't say that I'm not a little disappointed that we didn't get the transponder"

"Who's to say we didn't?" Kendall asked, causing James to glance up at him. As he did so, he noticed Kendall holding a small object in his hand. "I was able to grab it before we sprinted from the room" Kendall continued, causing a massive smile to grow on James' face as he let out a sigh of relief.

"And here I was thinking that was all for nothing" James stated, causing Kendall to let out a little chuckle.

"Well, I'm going to hook this up to the Phoenix's computer and set course for Cherria. It'll probably take a day or two to get there, so I suggest you rest up. If you thought today was difficult, then I've got a feeling, it's going to get much worse" Kendall finished, flashing James a smile before turning to walk away.

"Kendall?" James stated, causing the blond to glance back at him. "I just wanted to say thank you, for everything. I know I've not been the easier person to be around but uh thanks" James stated, causing Kendall to let out a little chuckle.

"Don't mention it Princess"

* * *

**So there we have it! A lot happened this chapter and I hope you all enjoyed it! I have to admit, it was certainly fun to write!**

**I want to say a massive thank you to Winterschild11, Guest and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing the last chapter and I'm so glad you enjoyed it! James and his hair was something that I thought would definitely get a reaction from you all, as we all know what he was like in the show! Still, for the sake of the story, I stand by my choice, no matter how torturous it may be! 😜 But you're right, James has been through so much bless him! I do think it's fair to say, however, that that is far from over!**

**Anyway, I hope you've all had a great week and I will see you on Friday for my Valentine's Day story, (name still TBD haha.) But until then,**

**TTFN 😀👑**


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